Re: Difficulty with netbooting - le0: lost carrier when bringing down thenetbsd kernel
Chris Hanson <[email protected]> Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:24:07 -0800
| Newsgroups | gmane.os.netbsd.ports.hp300 |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
--Apple-Mail-BA56B320-8A26-412F-817C-B96C7A1C6563 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On Dec 23, 2025, at 10:34=E2=80=AFPM, Mike Begley <[email protected]> wrote: > I have an AUI port on my machine (in an expansion card), and when I use th= at rather than the I am able to successfully get to the point where it keeps= asking over and over for the different netbsd kernels, over & over (as oppo= sed to using thinnet, where it just hangs on the le0a carrier lost errors). = Can I use the AUI port to deliver the kernel (and the rest of the filesyste= m) via nfs? ChatGPT claimed that the SYS_UBOOT bootstrap loader would only w= ork on the thinnet network connection...but was it hallucinating on this? >=20 > As an aside, ChatGPT suggested that Version D ROMs would allow the bootloa= der to select other LAN interfaces. Also, totally a hallucination? I belie= ve I have Version C ROMs, by the way. The thing about LLMs is that *all they do is hallucinate*. Sometimes what th= ey hallucinate happens to correspond somewhat to reality, in quite a few cas= es it doesn=E2=80=99t. I don=E2=80=99t use them out of principle and this sh= ould help inform your future decisions as to whether to have anything to do w= ith them. I don=E2=80=99t know specifically about whether only the 10Base-2 interface w= ould work with SYS_UBOOT though I strongly suspect that=E2=80=99s not the ca= se. (It=E2=80=99s also almost certainly possible to strap your 360 to ignore= built-in LAN.) Similarly, the 9000/300-series version C boot ROMs should be= fine, I=E2=80=99ve netbooted many HP-9000/300 systems with version C ROMs. In my experience, for booting NetBSD on HP 9000-300 series, all you need is t= he remote management protocol server to serve SYS_UBOOT to the HP firmware, a= static DHCP server entry to give SYS_UBOOT an IP address and tell it what N= FS server, kernel path, and root filesystem to use, and an NFS share that ca= n serve both the kernel and the root filesystem to SYS_UBOOT on your HP. One thing you might also wind up needing to do is modifying the /etc/rc you u= se on your HP to attach swap first thing, if you have under (say) 16MB of RA= M. The last time I tried an 8MB system (a 9000/332) I got a panic partway th= rough /etc/rc due to running out of RAM. Personally, I think we should put b= ack the mounting of NFS swap (as specified by DHCP/bootparams) immediately a= fter the root filesystem to handle cases like this, so /etc/rc doesn=E2=80=99= t need to be modified. > Totally unrelated: > I found in my stash a video board for which I have no idea what monitors i= t drives. It's not a bunch of BNC connectors, but a 9-pin connector. I don= 't have the model number on me right now, but when I looked for it on the in= tertubes I the only reference I could find referred to it as a monochrome gr= aphics framebuffer. Does this right a bell for anyone? I wonder if this is= used to drive an early PC MGA or CGA monitor, or one of the touchscreen mon= itors that HP was selling. I can get the model number later this evening. It=E2=80=99s absolutely not going to be any of the archaic PC equivalent dis= play; in those days, HP was using an RCA jack for mono video at 1024=C3=9740= 0 (text, 512=C3=97400 graphics). If it=E2=80=99s a larger DIO-II board, it=E2= =80=99s almost certainly mono (or grayscale) 1280=C3=971024 at close to VESA= refresh rates. I=E2=80=99m not sure offhand whether it=E2=80=99d use RS-170= , TTL, or ECL logic levels for the video; I expect the card manual will have= a pinout and signal level details, check the HP Museum and Bitsavers. If it= is RS-170, it=E2=80=99d be trivial to make yourself a DE-9 to DE-15 VGA ada= pter, just put the mono signal on green and you=E2=80=99ll get a lovely mono= green display on your LCD of choice. (Or if it=E2=80=99s a fancy one, like t= he NEC LC1990SX that I love, you can use the secret advanced config menu to s= pecify you=E2=80=99re using mono on green and have it render that as white.)= =E2=80=94 Chris --Apple-Mail-BA56B320-8A26-412F-817C-B96C7A1C6563 Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html class=3D"apple-mail-supports-explicit-dark-mode"><head><meta http-equi= v=3D"content-type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dutf-8"></head><body dir=3D= "auto"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div>On Dec 23, 2025, at 10:34=E2=80=AFPM, Mike Begl= ey <[email protected]> wrote:<br></div><div><blockquote type=3D"cite"><spa= n style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Apto= s_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have an= AUI port on my machine </span><span style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-fami= ly: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans= -serif; font-size: 12pt;">(in an expansion card), and when I use that rather= than the I am able to successfully get to the point where it keeps asking o= ver and over for the different netbsd kernels, over & over (as opposed t= o using thinnet, where it just hangs on the le0a carrier lost errors). Can I use the AUI port t= o deliver the kernel (and the rest of the filesystem) via nfs? ChatGPT= claimed that the SYS_UBOOT bootstrap loader would only work on the thinnet n= etwork connection...but was it hallucinating on this?</span></blockquote></div></div><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div dir=3D= "ltr"><div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontServ= ice, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" c= lass=3D"elementToProof"></div> <div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, C= alibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D= "elementToProof"> <br> </div> <div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, C= alibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D= "elementToProof"><blockquote type=3D"cite"></blockquote></div></div></blockq= uote><div dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, A= ptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: r= gb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"elementToProof"><blockquote type=3D"cite"> As an aside, ChatGPT suggested that Version D ROMs would allow the bootloade= r to select other LAN interfaces. Also, totally a hallucination? = I believe I have Version C ROMs, by the way.</blockquote><br></div><div sty= le=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, H= elvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"elemen= tToProof"><div>The thing about LLMs is that *all they do is hallucinate*. So= metimes what they hallucinate happens to correspond somewhat to reality, in q= uite a few cases it doesn=E2=80=99t. I don=E2=80=99t use them out of princip= le and this should help inform your future decisions as to whether to have a= nything to do with them.</div></div><div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_= EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size= : 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"elementToProof"><br></div><div style=3D= "font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helve= tica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"elementToP= roof"><div><div><div><div>I don=E2=80=99t know specifically about whether on= ly the 10Base-2 interface would work with SYS_UBOOT though I strongly suspec= t that=E2=80=99s not the case. (It=E2=80=99s also almost certainly possible t= o strap your 360 to ignore built-in LAN.) Similarly, the 9000/300-series ver= sion C boot ROMs should be fine, I=E2=80=99ve netbooted many HP-9000/300 sys= tems with version C ROMs.</div></div></div></div><div><br></div><div><div><d= iv>In my experience, for booting NetBSD on HP 9000-300 series, all you need i= s the remote management protocol server to serve SYS_UBOOT to the HP firmwar= e, a static DHCP server entry to give SYS_UBOOT an IP address and tell it wh= at NFS server, kernel path, and root filesystem to use, and an NFS shar= e that can serve both the kernel and the root filesystem to SYS_UBOOT on you= r HP.</div><div><br></div><div><div>One thing you might also wind up needing= to do is modifying the /etc/rc you use on your HP to attach swap first thin= g, if you have under (say) 16MB of RAM. The last time I tried an 8MB system (= a 9000/332) I got a panic partway through /etc/rc due to running out of RAM.= Personally, I think we should put back the mounting of NFS swap (as specifi= ed by DHCP/bootparams) immediately after the root filesystem to handle cases= like this, so /etc/rc doesn=E2=80=99t need to be modified.</div></div></div= ></div></div><div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFo= ntService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0,= 0);" class=3D"elementToProof"><br></div></div><blockquote type=3D"cite"><di= v dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MS= FontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0= , 0);" class=3D"elementToProof"></div> <div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, C= alibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D= "elementToProof"><blockquote type=3D"cite"></blockquote></div></div></blockq= uote><div dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, A= ptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: r= gb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"elementToProof"><blockquote type=3D"cite"> Totally unrelated:</blockquote></div></div><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div di= r=3D"ltr"> <div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, C= alibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D= "elementToProof"><blockquote type=3D"cite"></blockquote></div></div></blockq= uote><div dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, A= ptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: r= gb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"elementToProof"><div><blockquote type=3D"cite"> I found in my stash a video board for which I have no idea what monitors it d= rives. It's not a bunch of BNC connectors, but a 9-pin connector. = ; I don't have the model number on me right now, but when I looked for it on= the intertubes I the only reference I could find referred to it as a monochrome graphics framebuffer. Does t= his right a bell for anyone? I wonder if this is used to drive an earl= y PC MGA or CGA monitor, or one of the touchscreen monitors that HP was sell= ing. I can get the model number later this evening.</blockquote></div><br></div><div style=3D"font-family: Aptos,= Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; fo= nt-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"elementToProof"><div><div><div= ><div>It=E2=80=99s absolutely not going to be any of the archaic PC equivale= nt display; in those days, HP was using an RCA jack for mono video at 1024=C3= =97400 (text, 512=C3=97400 graphics). If it=E2=80=99s a larger DIO-II board,= it=E2=80=99s almost certainly mono (or grayscale) 1280=C3=971024 at close t= o VESA refresh rates. I=E2=80=99m not sure offhand whether it=E2=80=99d use R= S-170, TTL, or ECL logic levels for the video; I expect the card manual will= have a pinout and signal level details, check the HP Museum and Bitsavers. I= f it is RS-170, it=E2=80=99d be trivial to make yourself a DE-9 to DE-15 VGA= adapter, just put the mono signal on green and you=E2=80=99ll get a lovely m= ono green display on your LCD of choice. (Or if it=E2=80=99s a fancy one, li= ke the NEC LC1990SX that I love, you can use the secret advanced config menu= to specify you=E2=80=99re using mono on green and have it render that as wh= ite.)</div><br></div></div></div><div> =E2=80=94 Chris</div><div><br><= /div></div></div><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div dir=3D"ltr"> </div></blockquote></body></html>= --Apple-Mail-BA56B320-8A26-412F-817C-B96C7A1C6563--